May 19, 1780

On May 19, 1780, a heavy gloom fell over New England, prompting a religious group known as the Shakers to believe Judgment Day had come.

Though the unusual blackened sky, later called the "Dark Day," was most likely caused by a mix of smoke from forest fires and heavy fog, it sent the religious sect on a mission to spread their message of celibacy as the path to redemption.

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March 21, 1843 — March 21, 1844

Wikipedia

William Miller tricked thousands of followers, or Millerites, when he declared that the world would end between March 21, 1843 and March 21, 1844.

When the year rolled over and nothing happened, the date was moved to October 22, 1844.

After Jesus failed to arrive for the second time (known as the "Great Disappointment"), some Millerites left Miller's religion and went on to form the Seventh-day Adventists.

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May 19, 1910

During the early 20th century, astronomers learned that comet tails contained a poisonous gas called cyanogen. The discovery sparked widespread panic in 1910 when people learned that Earth would pass through the long tail of Halley's Comet.

Although scientists agreed that earthlings were not in danger, newspapers played up superstitions, convincing the public that the end was near.

1936, 1943, 1972, and 1975

The founder of the Worldwide Church of God, Herbert W. Armstrong, told members of his church that the rapture would take place in 1936, and that only they would saved. After the prophecy failed, he changed the date three more times.

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March 10, 1982

In 1974, astrophysicists John Gribbin and Stephen Plagemann published "The Jupiter Effect," which claimed that on March 10, 1982, the planets would align on the same side of the sun, creating gravitational effects that would lead to catastrophic earthquakes.

As goes without saying, the book was eventually followed by "The Jupiter Effect Reconsidered."

December 7, 2012

The world was supposed to end on December 7, 2012, according to ancient predictions based on the Mayan calendar.

Earth survived, perhaps because Mayans never actually predicted an apocalypse. This is just when they got lazy with their record keeping and stopped updating the long-form version of their 5,172-year calendar.

Just as our calendar starts the year fresh by repeating all 12 months starting January 1, the Mayan calendar now begins another long cycle.